The campaign, which takes the form of Gotham police notes and a ‘wanted’ poster asking the public to keep a look out for Batman, can be seen on the film’s official website at www.thedarkknightrises.com .

And as well as accusing the Caped Crusader of a string of murders – including that of Harvey Dent – and the kidnapping of members of Commissioner Gordon’s family – it also invites fans to help them in their hunt for Batman.

A list of locations where the Dark Knight has allegedly been spotted are listed, inviting people to photograph sightings at key locations across the world – including several in London – and send their snaps to the film’s official Twitter page.

The London locations include Brick Lane in Shoreditch, Portobello Road, the Waterloo Tunnels and Chalk Farm Road in Camden Town.

The film sees Christian Bale reprise his role as Batman (Picture: AP/Warner Bros)

And Batman fans around the country, in Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Brighton and Birmingham are also encouraged to join in .

On a worldwide scale fans are urged to send in their findings from countries ranging from Australia, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico through to Spain, the Netherlands, Germany and India.

The campaign is the latest in a series of viral marketing stunts for the forthcoming blockbuster, with others including the release of CIA documents pertaining to nuclear physicist Leonid Pavel, while another showed a map of potential ‘strike zones’ around Gotham City.

The Dark Knight Rises, which sees Christian Bale reprise the role of Batman, co-stars Tom Hardy as Bane and Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle/Catwoman, as well as seeing cast members Gary Oldman and Michael Caine return.